July 2026: Two Landslide Incidents at Lakhwar Dam in Three Days

July 16, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Trapped and damaged vehicles at Lakhwar dam site following a landslide on July 11, 2026. Source: Amar Ujala)

The under-construction Lakhwar dam site on the Yamuna river in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand witnessed two landslide incidents within three days in July 2026. Although there was no loss of life, both incidents damaged construction machinery, exposed the risks faced by workers, and revived concerns about slope stability, construction practices and the suitability of building such a large dam in the fragile Himalayan region.

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Climate Change · Dams · Maharashtra · River Front Development · Urban Rivers

Riparian Forest 22 degrees Celsius cooler than the Riverfront Project!

July 16, 2026July 17, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

Pune saw some of the warmest summer days and nights this summer. So did several Indian cities. With the recent monsoon, the thoughts of this heat might have washed away but it is important that one does not forget the summer heat. Why? Read More:

*Riparian Forest Photo Credit: Tara Tanmayi S.*

Why run and hurry? Here’s dictionary: Microclimate: Microclimate generally refers to the specific climatic conditions within a small area (such as street, park, riverside, etc.). With rise in extreme events like heat and global warming, microclimate is what make cities/ spaces livable. The temperature difference you experience while driving on a road with no tree cover vs with a tree cover is what microclimate is.

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Chenab · Climate Change · Floods · Himalayas

Flooding Under the Scorching Sun: The Unstudied Crisis of Himalayan Nallahs

July 10, 2026July 21, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

Collapsed Bridge: Bride and Groom wait on the banks of flooded Jahlma even as farmers carry their harvests on their backs Photo: Govind Phurpa

“The sun was so hot, we knew the floods would be coming.” Says Jagdish ji, resident of Lindur village in the Lahaul Himalayas.

His home and fields are adjacent to a glacial stream called Jahlma Nallah which shoots from the Pir Panjal range to meet the Chenab River below. And just as he predicted, on the afternoon of 29th June 2026, like the past five years[1], Jahlma Nallah flooded and roared. In a matter of minutes, the thin flow transformed into a terrifying, brown debris-laden force. The sludge raced towards Chenab and nearly blocked the river by the brute force of water and debris it collected on its way. It cut off the connectivity of hundreds of villages.[2]

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CWC - Central Water Commission · Floods · Himalayas · Hydro Disaster · Monsoon

June 2026: Flash Flood Disaster at NEEPCO’s HEP Site in Arunachal Pradesh

June 25, 2026August 14, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: Scren grab of flash flood passing through NEEPCO 43 Colony at PLHEP site in mornng hour of June 24, 2026. Source: Pratidin Time news)

A severe flash flood spell in the Poosa–Yazali area of Keyi Panyor district, Arunachal Pradesh on June 24, 2026, has significantly affected NEEPCO’s 43 colony located near the Panyor Lower Hydroelectric Project (PLHEP) site, close to the reservoir of the HEP. The disaster occurred around 6 in the morning, heavy spell creating a cloud burst like situation.

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Dams · Floods · Indus · Ravi River

The Nowhere-land of Ravi

June 25, 2026June 29, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

As we reached Makora Pattan, sun was setting over the River Ravi and before us spread a sea of oranges and rubies. Late October kash blooms crowded the high sandy banks and across the vast silken expanse of water, the other bank was barely visible. Rivers of the Indus basin are called Darya in the plains of Punjab. Darya: a word interchangeable with the sea.

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Dam floods · Floods · Himalayas · Ravi River

One More Monsoon: Governance, Accountability and the Collapse of Madhopur Barrage

June 21, 2026June 23, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

“Ye paani samne aa gaya. Gate khul nahi rahe to grenade dalo, blast kardo. Ye pura beh jaayega.”

“The water is right in front of us. If the gates are not opening, blast them with a grenade. Everything will be washed off.”

– Ex-Minister Lal Singh Chaudhary (Basholi, J&K) at Madhopur Barrage, on the eve of Madhopur gate collapse.[1]

On the 27^th of August 2025, after facing several days of floods from a swollen, angry Ravi River, three gates of Madhopur Barrage at Pathankot crashed into the brown, swirling waters. Around this time, a team of engineers and helpers were on the barrage, making dangerous but futile attempts at opening the jammed gates. Three people fell in the flood, two were rescued but one body was later recovered underwater, from the wrecked gates they were trying to open. Earlier that morning, 22 CRPF jawans were airlifted from a building next to the barrage, moments before it collapsed into the raging river. The flood unleashed a wave of destruction in the downstream.

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Climate Change · Hydropower · Indus · Interlinking of RIvers

Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel: Safety of the Indian Himalayan Region at Stake

June 2, 2026June 3, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

In an astounding move, NHPC published a Tender Notice for ‘Chenab-Beas Link Tunnel Project (Link 3)’ on the 20th May 2026 [1] and immediately cancelled it on the 23rd May 2026. No details of this project were online before this sudden announcement and its retraction, nor does the project have legally required environmental, forest, tribal ministry clearances or Gram Sabha resolutions in support.

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Fish, Fisheries, Fisherfolk · Indus · Rivers and Culture

Panzath Springs Festival: Kashmir’s Living Tradition of Water & Fish Conservation

May 22, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

(Feature Image: An aerial view of the cleaning and fishing festival. Image Source: Awaz The Voice.)

Over time, the Panzath fishing festival has emerged as a remarkable community-led initiative aiming to protect and celebrate the sacred Panzath Naag (springs) in Anantnag district of Jammu & Kashmir. The historical springs have immense cultural value and serve as a potable and irrigation water lifeline for over three dozen villages.

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Climate Change · Dams · Groundwater · Himachal Pradesh · Indus · Ravi River

Raj Naun: Can Stories Save our Springs?

April 12, 2026April 14, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

How can we drink this cool water?
For we will see you in it for all our life
Night of atonement, oh girls, oh birds.
~ Sukrat, an elegy for Queen Suhi who was sacrificed for Chamba’s water[1]

Raj Naun, the Royal Fountain House in Chamba is not what I imagined it to be. After reading and thinking about it obsessively for over a year what lies ahead is not a homage to water but a structure in ruins. The Raj Naun has vaulted ceilings, arches and two beautifully carved waterspouts to channel a robust Himalayan spring. But the spouts are dry, the chamber is full of garbage, bottles of alcohol, stacks of firewood, packets of chips lie around. There is that unmissable stench of urine.

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Groundwater · Himachal Pradesh · Himalayas · Ravi River · River Ethnographies

Chhatradi: Thirty-Six Spring Fountains of the Ravi

April 10, 2026April 10, 2026 SANDRPLeave a comment

“If you really want to see Panihars, you should visit Chhatradi” says the shy Aditya. He is 15 years old and studies in class X. We are standing on a busy and dusty bridge across a tributary of Ravi in Chamba, Himachal Pradesh. Beside us is the legendary Fulmutala spring fountain (Panihar). Hundreds of people come here every evening to collect cool and clear drinking water. Most have piped water supply in their homes but insist that waters of Fulmutala are peerless. Spring Fountains are a way of life in the Ravi Basin. And yet, very little is said about these beautiful places bringing together groundwater, rivers, ecology and culture.

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